150 Amsterdam Avenue (former American Red Cross)

Address: 150 Amsterdam Avenue

Block: 1158
Lot: 129

Landmark Status: No

Summary of site plans and status

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UPDATE: 2/28/08

The development is still in the pre-certification phase. The City Planning Commission is working with the developer to complete its zoning map amendment application.

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The American Red Cross property at West 66th Street was sold to a developer who is building a 41-story rental building. The rest of this strip (i.e. north to West 70th Street) is owned by a single developer, who is beginning construction of a series of buildings along the Avenue. A third developer has completed construction of a 30-story tower on West End Avenue at West 70th Street.

In 2006 the New York City Opera was in talks with the developer to possibly relocate to the base of 150 Amsterdam, but the deal did not go through.

The American Red Cross site (lot 129) was sold to A & R Kalimian Realty for $72 million. The plans include a 45-story, 80/20 rental building, which includes a community facility as part of the structure.

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UPDATE: 8/04/09

On April 22nd, 2009 the City Council voted to support the project with caveats.  In addition, Council Member Brewer supports affordable housing at this site and has written Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Raphael Cestero regarding this issue.  The text of her letter is below.

Dear Commissioner Cestero:

Congratulations on your appointment as Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. I am writing in regard to an important development project in my district at 150 Amsterdam Avenue.  In 2007, the property was bought by A & R Kalimian Realty for the purpose of residential rental development, and as construction reaches its final stages, I would like to discuss the possibility of including affordable housing units.

As you may know, this building was originally owned and operated by the American Red Cross.  It was then sold to A & R Kalimian, a firm that is presently building a 41-story rental tower with community space on the first two floors. The building is going through the ULURP process because the new owners are seeking a re-zoning of the ground floor from community space to retail.

Needless to say, residents of the West Side are in need of affordable housing and this building could provide an opportunity to work toward the goals of the Mayor’s New Housing Marketplace Plan. A member of my staff will be calling your office to schedule a meeting.

I appreciate your attention to this issue, and I hope that we can work together to make affordable housing at this location a reality.

Sincerely,

Gale A. Brewer

Contact

A&R Kalimian Realty
79 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 751-8050

Brenda Levin, Consultant
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 840-1812

 

340 Amsterdam Avenue, between 76 and 77 Street (Amsterdam Inn)

Address: 340 Amsterdam Avenue between 76 & 77 Street

Landmark Status: No

Block: 1168

Lot: 29

Summary of the site plans and status

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The beloved Amsterdam Inn at Amsterdam and 76 Street is not going to be turned into a condominium with the rest of the block. Related Companies has bought up most of the block, but the Amsterdam Inn and the Westside Brewing Company refused to sell.

According to the New York Observer’s February 19, 2007 article by Chris Shott, “the developer plans to erect a high-rise residential tower, featuring all-new ground-level retail” and a “second-floor Equinox gym…The entire 18-story complex would have spanned the entire block were it not for the holdouts on the southern corner.” Read the article.

Contact

Amsterdam Inn

340 Amsterdam Avenue

Phone: 212-579-7500

Fax: 212-579-6127
Email: amsterdaminn@nyinns.com

SAJ Hamilton Corp

262 W 73 Street APT B2
New York, NY 10023-8807

 

160, 166, 190, 200, 208 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 67-69 Street (Lincoln Square Synagogue)

Addresses: 201-209 West 66 Street (160, 166, 190, 200, 208 Amsterdam Avenue)

Prior to Demolition:
Block 1158/Lot 10: Citibank
Block 1158/Lot 12: ACP Retail Building
Block 1158/Lot 34: West End Synagogue
Block 1158/Lots 133 & 134: Lincoln Square Synagogue

Future:
Block 1158/Lot 10: Citibank (unchanged)
Block 1158/Lot 12: ACP building (remaining southern 2/3 of Lot 12)
Block 1158/Tentative Lot 18: New Lincoln Square Synagogue (northern 1/3 of Lot 12)
Block 1158/Lot 34: West End Synagogue (unchanged)
Block 1158/Lot 133 & 134: ACP Building

Landmark Status: No
Summary of site plans and status
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UPDATE: 1/31/09

As of January 31, 2008, American Continental Properties (ACP) intends to pursue retail development for the southern 2/3 rd’s of 166 Amsterdam. ACP does not intend to purse residential development at this time.

As of summer 2007, demolition has been completed and the site is now prepped for construction.

American Continental Properties (ACP) is researching what they can build on the southern 2/3rd of 166 Amsterdam (Lots 133 and 134), the site which they control. The site is as-of-right, which means that a 45-story tower can be built. The northern 1/3 of 166 Amsterdam is the future home of the Lincoln Square Synagogue, proposed to be a 5-story building, adjacent to the West End Synagogue, which remains.

Lot 12 was the former ACP building and the northern 1/3 will go to the Synagogue. Lots 133 and 134 belongs to ACP. Lot 12 is between 67 and 69 Streets and 134 is between 69 and 70 streets, both on the west side of Amsterdam.

Contact

George M. Fontas
Capalino+Company
850 Third Avenue, 19 Floor
New York, NY 10022
(T) 212-822-2248

Scott Liebman
Lincoln Square Synagogue
(T) 212-713-2000

Tom Fraehmke
American Continental Properties
400 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
(T) 212-826-9700

 

Amsterdam Houses/Amsterdam Addition

Amsterdam Houses
40 – 94, Amsterdam Avenue
205, 249 West 61 Street
216, 217, 241, 242, 248, 249, 250 West 62 Street
216, 217, 228, 242, 250 West 63 Street
210-218, 243 West 64 Street
247, 250 West 61 Street Drive

Amsterdam Addition
240 West 65 Street

Block: 1154
Lot: Many
Landmark Status: No
Summary of site plans and status
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According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the State Historic Preservation Office, as of August 2007 the Amsterdam Houses and Amsterdam Addition complex are National Register Eligible. According to to the New York State Historic Preservation Office, if put on the State or National Register of Historic Places Amsterdam Houses and Addition would result in:

1. Registered properties and properties determined eligible for the Registers receive a measure of protection from the effects of federal and/or state agency sponsored, licensed or assisted projects through a notice, review, and consultation process.

2. Owners of depreciable, certified historic properties may take a 20 percent federal income tax credit for the costs of substantial rehabilitation as provided for under the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

3. Municipal and not-for-profit owners of listed historic properties may apply for matching state historic preservation grants.

The single block between 61 and 64 Streets consists of 13 apartment houses. Community Works is currently working with Council Member Brewer on a program to tell the untold stories of Amsterdam Houses, involving public school students. The project will culminate in a public art exhibition which will include contemporary photographic portraits by renowned documentary photographer Ruth Morgan; archival photographs; commentary by contributing writers; and poetry and prose by local youth. the exhibition will also feature a visual art component created by youth and elders of the community, and will open in 2008 and tour city-wide.

In July 2007, Council Member Gale A. Brewer addressed the Amsterdam Houses community at the Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center, alongside other elected officials, at the 60th Annual Amsterdam Reunion Tribute Program and Brunch. Read the Press Release for more information about the event and the Amsterdam Houses and Amsterdam Addition complex.

The Resource Evaluation report of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, regarding the Amsterdam Houses property, between Amsterdam and West End Avenues, and between West 61-64 Streets, dated January 4, 2007, provides a Statement of Significance.

The following is an excerpt from this statement:

Amsterdam Houses represent the response by the state and local government to provide affordable housing for low-income families and returning World War II veterans. The complex was financed by a $7.7 million loan from the New York State Division of Housing though a subsidy agreement with the city. New York State was progressive at the time in that it was one of the few states with its own public housing construction programs. While the New York State Housing Law passed in 1926 encouraging the formation of local housing authorities, it had little impact locally until 1934 when NYCHA was established.

The racial and ethnic diversity of the original residents of Amsterdam Houses reflects the thinking of key planners, architects, housing reformers, and laws of post- World War II New York. NYCHA’s selection of original residents was a response to the state mandate that state-aided public housing projects bar discrimination based on race, color, creed, or religion, as well as to both state and federal laws that were passed giving returning veterans preference in public housing.

The plan and design of Amsterdam Houses reflect the progressive thinking of its prominent design team: architects Grosvenor Atterbury, Arthur C. Holden, and Harvey Wiley Corbett, and landscape architects gilmore D. Clarke and Michael Rapuano. Amsterdam Houses is notable for its open, classically-inspired plan with a central landscaped axis oriented toward the Hudson River and for the warmth and subtle articulation of its brickwork. The complex stands as one of the last publicly-funded housing developments of the post-World War II era to align with the city grid as opposed to the slightly later “tower in the park” schemes that relied on larger-scale super blocks.

The complex has undergone minor alterations including the slight widening of paths and the replacement of original windows. Despite these changes,the complex is remarkably intact to its 1948 completion date. Amsterdam Houses retain integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

The following is quoted from a LANDMARK WEST! lecture invitation about the Amsterdam Houses in September 2006:

In 2005, LANDMARK WEST! added Amsterdam Houses to their landmark designation “wish list” as a noteworthy example of early, well-designed, racially and ethnically integrated public housing.

Built in 1947 and designed by Grosvenor Atterbury, Harvey Wiley Corbett, and Arthur C. Holden, the Amsterdam Houses on Amsterdam Avenue between 61 and 64 Streets is an example of the design that characterized New York City Public Housing projects constructed after World War II. Originally the home to many returning veterans, this complex is a reminder of the vision that guided public housing development in the first half of the twentieth century.

Contact

Margarita Curet, President
Amsterdam Houses Tenant Association
216 West 62 Street, Apt 4C
New York, NY 10023
(T) 212-262-2381

Patricia Ryan, President
Amsterdam Addition Tenant Association
545 Eigth Ave., Suite 401
New York, NY 10018
(T) 212-592-3208

Kathy Howe
NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Historic Preservation Field Services Bureau
Peebles Island
P.O. Box 189
Waterford, NY 12188
(T) 518-237-8643 x 3266

 

Gateway School of New York (“The School”) 211 West 61 Street

Address: 211 West 61 Street
Block: 1154
Lot: 7502
Landmark Status: N/A
Summary of site plans and status
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Gateway School of New York (“The School”) is a New York State education corporation operating a non-profit co-educational, non-residential special needs school that serves students between the age of 5 and 13. They are located at 236 Second Avenue, but will be moving to 211 West 61 Street by 2009.

The school seeks acquisition, renovation and equipping of commercial condominium units comprising approximately 19,230 square feet located at 211 West 61st Street (between Amsterdam and West End Avenue), New York, NY 10023 utilizing tax-exempt bond financing through the New York City Industrial Development Agency.

The total project costs are approximately $31,600,000. The School is seeking the issuance of up to $18,650,000 in NYCIDA tax-exempt bonds to (i) acquire building space at 211 West 61st Street in the amount of $8,120,000; (ii) fund construction costs of $6,765,000, (iii) fund FF&E costs of $1,005,000, and (iv) fund soft costs in the amount of $2,760,000. The School will finance the remainder of the project costs with $4,950,000 of Equity Contributions and $8,000,000 from the sale of their existing building.

211 West 61 Street is a 6-story building, and Gateway will be occupying 1, 5 and 6. The other floors are occupied by the American Music and Dance Association.

The Company will retain 37 full-time equivalent employees and will create 23 new full-time equivalent positions in the next 3 years.

Contact

Robert Cunningham
The Gateway School
236 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(T) 212-777-5966

 

318-330 Amsterdam Avenue and 75 Street (New York Cab Company)

Address: 318-324 Amsterdam Avenue (at 75 Street)
Block No: 1167
Lot No: 29

Landmark status: Yes

Summary of site plans and status

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On Tuesday, November 16, 2006 the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted unanimously to extend landmark status to this building.

According to the LPC’s website,

The New-York Cab Company pioneered many of the practices we see in our present-day taxi industry, from the color of the cabs to timed fares,’ said Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney. ‘At the end of the 19th century, there were an estimated 4,600 stables across the City and 74,000 horses crowding our streets. And hundreds of them were kept in this remarkably intact and well-preserved stable building on the Upper West Side.

 

201 West 92 Street, 200 West 93 Street (92/93 Amsterdam Condominium)

Address: 201 West 92 Street, 200 West 93 Street
Block No: 1240
Lot No: 29
Landmark status: No
Summary of site plans and status
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These buildings are connected (underneath the structures) and were purchased by Swig Equities for $54 million with air rights. The residents formed the 200/201 Tenants’ Association and organized a Board of Directors that is working with the tenants to protect the rights of those who presently reside in the building.

Elected officials, including Council Member Gale Brewer, sent a letter to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on October 21, 2006 to encourage rejection of the offering plan for additional floors to the building.

In 2007, Swig Equities proposed additional condos to be built on the roof of the two buildings, but withdrew the application after much protest from the tenants, elected officials, and city agencies.

According to the minutes from the May 1, 2007 Full Board Meeting of Community Board 7, “DOB revoked building permit for the construction of additional floors on 201 West 92nd Street.”

Contact

Greg Kirschenbaum, Director of Residential Operations
Swig Equities, LLC
770 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor
130 East 40th Street
New York, NY 10021
(212) 508-7210 ext. 7372

Marjorie Cohen, Tenant Leader
200/201 Tenants’ Association
210 West 92nd Street
New York, NY 10025
(212) 395-3745

 

295 West 76 Street/348 Amsterdam Avenue, 206 West 77 Street, 207 West 76 Street (The Harrison, formerly Dakota Stables)

Addresses: 295 West 76 Street/348 Amsterdam Avenue (between 75 and 76) (former Dakota Stables), 206 West 77 Street, 207 West 76 Street
Block No: 1168
Lot No: 33
Landmark status: No
Summary of site plans and status
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UPDATE: 3/18/08

The Harrison will be located in C2-7A and C4-6A zoning district, which requires a special permit by the Board of Standards and Appeals to operate a culture or health establishment building. The developer has submitted a BSA special permit application.

The Related Companies are planning to develop an 18-story mixed-use, luxury residential building on Amsterdam Avenue between West 76 Street and West 77 Street. If not for the owners of the Amsterdam, the development would have encompassed the entire block along Amsterdam Avenue. The Related Companies are planning to have an Equinox Gym on the second floor of The Harrison.

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As listed in “The Architect’s Newspaper” August 1, 2007:

Developer: The Related Companies
Architects: Robert A. M. Stern Architects, Ismael Leyva Architects
Size: 325, 000 square feet
Type: Residential
Completion: Spring 2009.

According to a 24 May, 1987 article in the New York Times, the Dakota Stables were built in 1891 and 1894, in two sections. It had 158 stalls and space for over 300 carriages. It was a Romanesque Revival structure almost entirely of brick, with little decoration.

Related Companies bought up all but 2 businesses on this block in an effort to build luxury condominiums in their place. The two businesses, the Westside Brewery Company (owned by Steve Wiebe) and the Amsterdam Inn above it, are at the end of block on West 76 Street and Amsterdam Avenue, and the developer is building around these remaining businesses. 206 West 77 and 207 West 76 Streets are the buildings that have also been demolished and these encircle the two businesses.

It is believed that the developers hold air rights over the hotel and bar and are not averse to building over the property as well.

In early 2007, Related demolished the Equinox Fitness Club, Champion Parking Lot (closed permanently December 31, 2006), and Chirping Chicken (which re-opened across the street).

The structure that was destroyed included the historic Dakota Stable, which was heard at the Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 17, 2006. After much advocacy for calendering a hearing, the members of the Commission decided not to move forward on discussion of landmarking because the owner had obtained a Department of Buildings permit to remove the facade in April 2006, and the night before the LPC hearing, he did so.

Related hired the architect Robert A.M Stern, to build an 18-story complex with ground level retail and a 2nd story Equinox gym.

The New-York Cab Co. Stable, which houses the Brewery and the Inn, as well as a restaurant and the Champion Garage, and is owned by Jacob Oved, was also calendared on October 17, 2006 and was declared a landmark on November 14, 2006. (318-330 Amsterdam Avenue aka 201-205 West 75 Street, Manhattan; Block 1167, Lot 29). 22 witnesses including Council Member Gale A. Brewer spoke in favor of designation.

The former New-York Cab Company Stable is a reminder of the time when horse-drawn carriages crowded Manhattan streets. Built in 1888-1890, 318-330 Amsterdam Avenue was one of the earliest commercial stables on the Upper West Side and an example of a utilitarian structure erected in the Romanesque Revival style. It was designed by A. Abbott French, an architect who specialized in speculative residential and commercial work in Manhattan. For a more thorough (and fun) description of the history of this building, go to the LPC site…

On Tuesday, November 14, 2006 the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted against landmark-status for the Dakota Stables in an 8-2 vote. The Commission decided that the building’s owner had received the proper permits to alter the building. Chairman Tierney argued that the Commission had no legal recourse in regard to the work taking place on the former Stable.

The Stables building, as shown in the picture below, has been demolished, although there were those who were pressing for it to be landmarked.
The site is zoned as c2-7A: Commercial.

Contact

The Related Companies
Spokeswoman for Related: Alicia Goldstein
60 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10023
(212) 421-5333